


Leader of the Pack

by aprofessorbhaer



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Babysitting, Gen, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Omega Character, Original Character(s), Pack, Pack Dynamics, Protectiveness, Reader-Insert, Wolf Pack, Wrestling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-03-26 19:18:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13864281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aprofessorbhaer/pseuds/aprofessorbhaer
Summary: This is in a universe where Alpha/Beta/Omega pack dynamics are like those of literal wolves, except they're applied to humans. So, for future reference: Alphas are the couples in charge of a pack, betas are those under them (like children to the alphas, like siblings to each other), and omegas are solitary wolves who were kicked out of their packs. Thus, 'Omega' is really more of an insult than a rank. Because of overpopulation, Alphas tend to take in betas and treat them as their own rather than bearing biological children (called pups), but the pups that are conceived are considered precious by the whole pack. Heats happen, but only once a year for a week, and like being horny, they don't inherently impair consent or judgement.The WWE company of wrestlers functions as a large-scale pack, where the on-screen matches take the place of needless fighting between Omegas for acceptance and approval. So, there are underlying old-fashioned ideas, but most people recognize that packs are basically families, and none of the ranks are greater or lesser than others.In this story, the reader is an Omega who takes care of the children of working WWE employees and Baron Corbin is an Alpha/Beta (depending on the group).





	1. Lone Wolf

‘The Lone Wolf’ was a stupid title. Did you know that lone wolves are the ones that die? They’re kicked out of their pack and starve. I don’t know how it became this idea of ‘striking out on our own in a brave and badass way’ in pop culture, because it’s really just about necessity. In the wild, there is no lone wolf by choice. 

Not that I was gonna tell Baron Corbin that. I valued my job too much. And it wasn’t like I was around him enough, anyway. Babysitting the kids of WWE workers kept me away from the actual wrestlers most of the time. I should probably be grateful for that.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You don’t like me.”

I looked up from my phone, startled that Baron would say anything to me, let alone that. He had caught me in the hallway while I was waiting for my schedule of upcoming workdays. I put my phone in my pocket. “What? That’s not true.” Where did he get that idea? Who had he talked to?

Baron rolled his eyes. “Please. You avoid eye contact, your hands are fists more often than not when I’m around, and you clench your jaw when I speak. You _really_ don’t like me.”

I looked down at my now-free hands. They were, in fact, in fists. I slowly opened them, letting out a deep breath. I tried to gather my thoughts. “It’s not that I dislike like you, really. I just…don’t get your branding.” It sounded lame even to my own ears, but it was still the truth.

Baron snorted. “Do you honestly expect me to believe that your problem with me is actually a problem with my dumb ring title? How stupid do you think I am?”

I shook my head, more at myself than Baron. “I get that it’s a weird problem to have, but I just don’t like ‘The Lone Wolf.’ It’s not something you choose to be, and it’s not something that describes you specifically, either. It just seems…dishonest to me.”

Baron cocked his head to the side. “How do you know it doesn’t describe me? I could be a lone wolf. It’s kinda my thing.”

This time, I rolled my eyes. “Please. I may not mingle with WWE talent, but I do watch some of the shows. You’re tight with Corey Graves, and you’re friends with Xavier Woods and his crew, don’t even try to deny it. I’ve seen you on his YouTube gaming channel.”

Baron shrugged. “Maybe I’m acting, sweetheart. Did you ever think of that?”

“Don’t insult me. Your persona might be a loner, but anyone who sees how you interact with people, even on camera, can tell you’re not naturally solitary.”

Baron narrowed his eyes at me, a half-smirk on his lips. “Oh, yeah? Care to share?”

His undivided attention was starting to make me anxious. For the first time, I looked around the hallway for anyone to deflect his attention. He caught me.

“Uh uh, you’re not getting out of this so easily. If what you say is true, then I’m not playing my character as well as I should be, and I need to fix that. So, tell me: how is it so obvious I’m not the Omega I pretend to be?”

That word brought me up short. Omega. Last. Least. I looked straight into his eyes, not trying to hide or escape anymore. “Anybody with knowledge of how pack dynamics work can tell from how comfortable you are touching or being close to certain other people that you’re probably a Beta, maybe an Alpha in some circles, but definitely not an Omega.”

Baron blinked, his expression frozen in shock.

I swallowed. “I have to go. See you around.” Then I turned and fled. Hey, I never said I was _brave_ , okay?

 

It was a few weeks later that there was a knock on my hotel room door. For once, I was actually traveling with the performers, which was both exciting and worrying. I would say that it made avoiding Baron more difficult than usual, but that wasn’t really true. I hadn’t seen him since our one and only personal conversation, so I could only assume he was avoiding me or going about business as usual.

I had no right to be disappointed.

Especially because when I opened the door, the person standing outside was Baron effing Corbin.  
It had been a long day, so I was already showered and wearing my sleepwear. Baron didn’t seem to care, his gaze focused on my face.

After a few awkward seconds, he prompted me “Can I come in?”  
I reluctantly stepped back to let him through.

He started talking as soon as I closed the door. “I’ve been thinking about what you said. About ‘The Lone Wolf’ being a misnomer for me. And I get where you’re coming from. But I resent your assumption that you know me well enough to tell what rank I am in my real life, outside the ring.”

I cleared my throat, somewhat surprised at the length of his speech. He was obviously telling the truth about thinking it over. “You’re right. I overstepped. I’m sorry.” I shifted my weight on my feet. “Is that why you came over?”

The half-smirk made another appearance. “Partly. But I also wanted to know how _you_ know about pack.”

My stomach dropped, but I tried to shrug nonchalantly. “How does anyone know about pack?”

Baron shook his head. “Don’t give me that. You have no scent, but I don’t get how a normie—”

“I grew up in pack.” I had heard it all before; I just wanted to finish this conversation as soon as possible so I could sleep.

Baron raised an eyebrow. “What, you adopted or something?”

“No.”

He crossed his arms. “Look babe, you’re not giving me a lot of reasons to trust you right now, and if I don’t trust you, you can bet I’ll suggest you don’t take care of the pups anymore. If you know about pack, then you know how important pups are.”

I glared at him. “I haven’t done anything to suggest I’m unfit to do my job.”

“Yeah, except avoiding any and all questions about your history.”

“I went through the proper channels for my job, Corbin! There was definitely a background check! If you’re so concerned about my competence, you can ask management to reassure you, but I don’t owe you anything.”

Baron just stared at me. “If you didn’t have anything to hide, you wouldn’t be so defensive.”

“I never said I had nothing to hide; I said it isn’t any of your business.”

“Wouldn’t you rather just tell me? It would make everything a whole lot easier.”

I nearly stomped my foot in frustration. “I’m not here to make things easier for you, Corbin! Do you think I’ve never been in this position before? You think you’re the first Alpha to try intimidation to get what they want? I know my rights; you have no grounds for termination of employment, so if you try anything, I WILL sue and cause the biggest scandal I can for WWE. So, _babe_ , why don’t you leave my hotel room so I can get some damn sleep???”

Baron stared at me for a few seconds then left without a word, closing the door behind him. I sank onto my bed, my head in my hands. Regardless of what I had led Corbin to believe, I was in no way secure about my current employment. If management wanted to, there were definitely ways around equal opportunity/no discrimination laws. I guess I’d just have to add job hunting to my to do list.  
Oh, joy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reader meets a few more people.

“I haven’t seen you around here before. You new?”

I looked up from my phone to see Dean Ambrose standing in front of me. Wearing his trademark jeans, tank top, and leather jacket, hands in his pockets. Waiting for my answer.

Oh, right. “Not really. I’ve been with WWE for a while but I’m not usually around to be seen. Strictly behind the scenes work for me.”

Dean raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? What do you do?”

For some reason, I didn’t feel threatened by this particular man-- who could easily hurt me—asking me questions. Maybe I was getting soft. Regardless, I answered.

“I look after the kids of other company employees while they work. Usually it’s for crew members, but there was a cancellation last-minute for the nanny of a wrestler, so I’m here to fill in.”

“Who’s the wrestler?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. The company doesn’t tell me beforehand so there’s less chance of…” I didn’t know how to continue.

Luckily, Dean understood. He nodded. “Right. Wouldn’t want a tweet or two getting out and putting a kid in danger.”

I nodded in agreement. I really wanted to protest that I’d never do such a thing, but that’d be pointless, right? Anyone would say that. And not everyone would mean it.

Dean clapped me on the shoulder, startling me. “Well, whoever the little terror is, good luck with that!” With that, he moseyed off.

I was still staring at his retreating back when I felt a tug on my shirt hem. Looking down, there was an adorable little girl smiling up at me. I had interacted with her before by chance, but I didn’t know who her parents were.

I smiled back. “Hi, honey. Are you my important appointment?”

She giggled, lifting her arms up. When I settled her on my hip, she wrapped her arms around my neck, resting her head on my collarbone.

“Aw, is someone sleepy? Well, let’s find a place to hang out while we wait for your parents, okay?” I felt her nod against my skin as I started walking down the hall. Surely there was a room nearby that wasn’t being used? Management had told me I’d be staying on site because the wrestler parent would be free to take their daughter home in an hour or two.

 

When that happened and I was cleared to return to my hotel room for the night, I had my second Superstar encounter in as many hours. Why did that happen every time I was in the halls? Not that I was complaining (much). I just wasn’t sure how many beautiful people I could meet in one night before I had a breakdown.  
I also wasn’t sure whether to be glad Roman Reigns was in street clothes: His ring look was definitely more intimidating, but freshly-showered and tired was disarming in its own way.  
I tried not to stare as I walked past him, but my plan to go unnoticed was foiled by his conversation partner.

“Ay, Mary Poppins! Come’ere, wouldja?”

I wanted to be upset at Dean, but his smile paired with his dimples made that kind of impossible. I walked over to the two men, trying to smile like a normal person would in this situation.

Roman was looking at his brother with fond exasperation. “You could at least use their actual name when you call them over, man.” He turned to look at me. “I’m sorry, we were talking about something and this guy figured it’d be easier just to ask.”

My heart faltered a bit in my chest. What were they talking about that would lead to asking me a question? I tried to look not terrified. “It’s no problem. What’s up?”

Dean shifted his weight, maintaining constant motion. “I was just tellin’ him about the arrangement where you don’t even know who’s kid you’re looking after.”

I looked at Roman for confirmation. He looked…troubled.

Dean continued. “And he said, that must be a new thing, because the few times you’ve worked with him, you definitely knew it was him when you got the job. And that got me thinkin’: what could’ve happened to make management treat you like some new intern instead of an employed professional?”

I looked down at my shoes. What would I tell them? Clearing my throat, I chose my words carefully. “I don’t know for certain, but I think…they’ve been led to believe I’m not…” worthy. Adequate. Enough. “…the best person for childcare.”

To my surprise, Roman scoffed. “Really? They’ve decided this _now_? And who could’ve possibly told them that?”

I ducked my head. “I’m sorry, but I’m not comfortable talking about it. I still have my job and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”

At the feel of a hand on my shoulder, I looked up to see it was Roman, not Dean, this time. His expression was still serious, but I wasn’t frightened. In fact, I felt…safe. As safe as I could feel, anyway. “Don’t apologize for that. We understand, and we don’t wanna put you in an even more difficult position.” When his hand fell back to his side, I tried not to miss its warmth. “I just don’t get how they could think they missed something when they hired you. I swear, the FBI is easier to join.” He looked at Dean for his input.

Dean snorted. “Yeah, I don’t know what to tell ya, man. I’ve never heard complaints from the roster or anyone else, and it’s not like earning the approval of those guys is easy.”  
Roman nodded. “I haven’t heard anything, either. I’m a bear when it comes to kids, but there haven’t been any problems.”

Until now, I added in my head. When both men looked back at me, I shrugged helplessly. 

Roman chuckled. “Well, enough standing around; I’ve gotta get back home. Talk to you later, brother.” He gave Dean a bro handshake-turned-hug thing. 

“Later, man.” Dean clapped him on the back. 

Then they both turned to me. I expected just words. Instead, they leaned in and kissed me on either cheek.  
I was frozen in front of their matching grins. I didn’t move when they said goodbye, or when they walked away. I don’t know how long I stood there.  
Eventually, I did make it back to my hotel room. I could only think of one thing while I tried to sleep: why did they care?


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the gym leads to draaamaaaa.

Growing up, exercise had never been easy for me. I had assumed that was because I wasn't ‘naturally athletic,’ until a good deal at a local gym had introduced me to mixed martial arts. For the first time, exercise was _fun_. Not only was I learning to defend myself, I was also working out and meeting new people. In fact, my interest in MMA is what led me to consider working for WWE. I even contemplated becoming a wrestler, before babysitting became too stable a gig for me to abandon. I wasn’t made of money, y’know? And training, focused training, was expensive and difficult to break into. 

I was okay with the way my life had turned out so far: I still got to meet people, and working for WWE had the added perk of gyms being _constantly_ available. When I had downtime between assignments, I liked to brush up on what I still remembered from my MMA classes. The exercise was great for boosting energy, mood, and appetite, which were all things I struggled with when on the road for long periods of time. It also made me feel powerful and confident in my own body—if something happened, I could defend myself, and hopefully anyone else with me. 

The past few weeks had meant frequent jobs, which was great for my wallet but not for my free time. I had been away from a gym so long I was itching to work out, even for just an hour. So, I threw on my gear and headed to the hotel gym for an evening session before we hit the road the next day. I’d probably sleep better, too.

I was done with warm-up stretches and well into my conditioning exercises when I heard the gym door open. Looking over, who would it be except Baron Fucking Corbin. Sighing, I finished my reps before standing up and shaking out. Baron was watching me warily, still near the door. 

I grabbed my bag and water bottle, walking towards him. He stiffened like he expected an attack, but I just walked around him to leave the way he came.

While my back was turned, I heard “What, you can’t even stand to be in the same room as me, anymore?”

I rolled my eyes, then turned to face him. “Actually, I was basically done anyway, and I thought you would prefer I leave.”

Baron crossed his arms. “Hey, don’t put that on me, babe. If you wanna leave, just leave.”

I clenched my jaw. “That’s what I’m trying to do, Corbin. You’re the one who wanted to make a scene.”

Corbin smirked. “And yet, you’re still here.”

“Yeah, no thanks to you.” The words were out of my mouth before I knew it. There was a shift in Corbin’s expression from my remark, but I hurried out the door before he could respond.  
I shouldn’t have let that escalate. I shouldn’t have helped that escalate. God, what if—

“Hey, you.” I snapped my head up from watching my feet. Roman was coming towards me down the hall, a friendly smile on his handsome face. Based on his outfit of sleeveless shirt, basketball shorts, and headphones, he was probably on his way to his own workout.

Something in my face must have told him something, because the smile was replaced with a concerned frown. “You okay? Something happen?”

I shook my head. “No, I’m fine.” I bit my lip, considering. “Uh, could I talk to you for a minute?”

Roman nodded seriously. “Sure.” He led us both to a secluded alcove around the hall’s corner. “What’s up?”

I fidgeted with the straps of my bag. “You know how I told you and Dean a few weeks ago that I didn’t wanna talk about…the thing with management?”

Roman nodded slowly, clearly waiting for me to elaborate.

I swallowed. “I’ve changed my mind. I still don’t wanna talk about the…person involved, but I want to tell you why they’re concerned about me.” 

Roman put a large hand on my shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Look, you don’t owe me anything, buddy. Your business is your business.”

One side of my mouth twitched up. I wish someone else thought that way. “You’re a parent, Roman. I want to tell you.” I want to be sure I’m safe for kids.

“Okay, if you’re sure.” His hand remained where it was, a silent support.

I tried to smile at him, then cleared my throat. “So, I think the reason management has been harder on me recently, is because someone in the company told them I’m hiding information about myself. Which is true. But it’s not about kids. It’s about…pack.” I felt Roman stiffen, so I rushed on before I lost my nerve. I needed to get this out. “I…I can recognize pack. But I’m not part of it. Because I’m…Omega. But I wouldn’t say that’s the reason, so the person assumed I had some…shady past. Which I guess is still possible.” I tried a nervous laugh, but the chuckle died an early death in my throat.

Roman wasn’t saying anything. I shifted from foot to foot. “I, uh, just wanted you to know. Because maybe you don’t want an Omega around your daughter, and it didn’t feel right to keep that from you. Sorry.” I coughed, not sure what else to do.

Some higher power must have taken pity on me just then, because the elevator dinging nearby made Roman turn his lead, letting me slip away.

“Hey!” He called after me, but I just kept turning corners until he lost me (I hoped). Not wanting to risk it, I took the nearest stairs back to my room. The whole time, I marveled at what a complete _idiot_ I was.

**Author's Note:**

> I used to agonize over posting fics I knew I wouldn't finish soon. Now I realize that posting them might inspire me to write more. So, I'm gonna try just posting SOMETHING whenever I feel like I have enough to say. I hope you enjoy this. It's my first published fic in the wrestling fandom, but I have more wips.


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